Courage is the heart of the matter

South Central softball player Dannae Alm won't be turned back by adversity.

South Central softball player Dannae Alm won't be turned back by adversity.

June 29, 2007|AL LESAR Tribune Columnist

UNION MILLS -- Softball is more than a recreational and competitive outlet in Dannae Alm's life. It's a way to answer challenges and test her limits. More than 17 years ago, when Dannae was just 10 days old, her parents were faced with the frightening reality that their daughter needed open-heart surgery to repair a birth defect. Since then, four more surgeries -- three of which have been open-heart, the last one being five years ago -- have complicated life for the senior-to-be at South Central High School. "I just want to be normal," Alm said, not asking too much for a person her age. "I love athletics because that's my chance to prove everybody wrong. I can play, no matter what everybody says." With a very athletic 5-foot-11 build, Alm would be a natural for volleyball or basketball, especially at a small school like South Central. Doctors, however, have ruled those sports out because of the contact involved. In addition to the multiple surgeries and impending replacement of the pacemaker that keeps her heart beating, Alm is on the highest dose of blood thinner presently administered to any patient at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "My body just metabolizes (the blood thinner) quicker than most kids, I guess," Alm said with a shrug. That left softball as the only sport cleared for her participation. She played on the Satellite junior varsity the past two seasons, then started this year there before her bat got her noticed. "We needed some more offense in our lineup, so we brought Dannae up," South Central coach Bill Fryar said. "She's hit well (about .300 for the year) and has fit in well." While she tinkered with playing third base on the JV, Alm was the team's designated hitter. She played a key role in the Satellites' march to the Class 1-A state semifinals this past season. "This was an amazing season," Alm said. "Playing so well was great, but the friendships I had made it really special." Fryar jokingly calls Dannae "Queen Bee" at practice, because she has his consent to step away from any drills or conditioning whenever she feels it's physically necessary. "I know my body well," Alm said. "I don't like to be babied. I try real hard to keep up with everybody, but my heart's set at a certain pace. If it gets beyond that, I can feel it." "The last few years, all Dannae has wanted is to be normal," said Patty Alm, her mother. "There are times when she's just kinda had enough. Sometimes you think it isn't fair." "Dannae's been through a lot," said Fryar. "Nobody, though, could have handled such a situation better than she has. All she wants to do is be treated the same as everyone else." In some cases that could be difficult because Alm's maturity level is so far beyond the average teen. She understands her affliction and deals with it -- fearlessly. "I'm stubborn, just ask my parents or my doctors," Dannae said. "But they've also said I'm a good patient. If there's another surgery involved, let's do it and move on." Doctors have mentioned she might soon be a candidate for a transplant, but Dannae feels she can get along just fine with the heart she has. And Dannae stubbornly won't allow her experience to be wasted. After graduation next spring, she plans to attend Indiana University South Bend to study nursing or another medical option, both cardiac related. "Not many doctors or nurses have been through what I've been through," she said. "I can look a patient in the eye before a surgery and talk them through it. I think that would have a greater impact on them. "I'd tell them it's scary, there are possible complications or death, but trust the surgeon and it will be fine. There are really no limits if you set your mind to it." Which is why she has her mind set on softball.